Optoelectronic Component Hard Cover for Automated Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Soft silicone potting materials used in optoelectronic components are difficult for automatic placement machines to grip, leading to processing challenges and potential damage during further handling due to their low mechanical resistance compared to semiconductor components.
Innovation Solution
A hard, light-transmissive cover with a hardness greater than silicone is used to protect the semiconductor chip, combined with a connecting material that forms a cavity seal, enhancing mechanical stability and processability while maintaining optical transparency and gas impermeability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a soft silicone potting material is used to protect the semiconductor chip, then the chip is protected against environmental influences, but the component becomes difficult for automatic placement machines to grip and handle
Solution Approach 1:
The protective function is segmented into two separate components: a soft silicone potting material that provides environmental protection, and a separate hard light-transmissive cover that provides a grippable surface for automatic handling. This segmentation allows each component to optimize its specific function without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
A hard light-transmissive cover is introduced as an intermediary component between the soft silicone potting material and the external handling environment. This cover serves as a mediator that provides the necessary mechanical properties for gripping while allowing the soft silicone to maintain its protective sealing function.
2Strength
If a hard cover is used to improve handling and mechanical resistance, then the component becomes easier to process, but the optical transparency may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The material properties of the cover are optimized by selecting a hard material with specific optical parameters that ensure high light transmission. The cover material is chosen to have both the necessary mechanical hardness and the required optical transparency, achieving a parameter optimization that satisfies both requirements simultaneously.
3Reliability
If silicone is used as potting material, then the semiconductor chip is protected, but the vacuum pipette can grip the component only poorly
Solution Approach 1:
The functional requirements are segmented between the silicone potting material (providing chip protection and sealing) and a separate hard cover (providing automation-compatible gripping surfaces). This allows the soft silicone to maintain its protective function while the hard cover enables reliable vacuum gripping for automated processing.
Data Source
AI summary
An optoelectronic component includes a substrate, a semiconductor chip arranged on the substrate, and a light-transmissive cover, wherein the light-transmissive cover covers at least an area of the semiconductor chip facing away from the substrate, the light-transmissive cover has a hardness greater than that of silicone, and a connecting material is arranged as a potting material between the light-transmissive cover and the substrate such that those areas of the semiconductor chip not covered by the substrate are surrounded by the connecting material, and the connecting material forms a cavity seal.